What is "asturias"

Asturias (; ; ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( ; ), is an autonomous community in north-west Spain. It is coextensive with the province of Asturias, and contains some of the territory that was part of the larger Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages. Divided into eight comarcas (counties), the autonomous community of Asturias is bordered by Cantabria to the east, by Castile and León to the south, by Galicia to the west, and by the Bay of Biscay to the north.

The most important cities are the communal capital, Oviedo (Uviéu or Uvieo), the seaport and largest city Gijón (Xixón), and the industrial town of Avilés. Other municipalities in Asturias include Cangas de Onís (Cangues d'Onís), Cangas del Narcea, Gozón, Grado (Grau or Grao), Langreo (Llangréu), Llanera, Laviana (Llaviana), Lena (Ḷḷena), Llanes, Mieres, Siero, Valdés, Vegadeo (A Veiga) and Villaviciosa (see also List of municipalities and comarcas in Asturias).

Asturias is also home to the Princess of Asturias Awards.

Asturias'' (Leyenda''), named simply Leyenda by its composer, is a musical work by the Spanish composer and pianist Isaac Albéniz.

The piece, which lasts around six minutes in performance, was originally written for the piano and set in the key of G minor. It was first published in Barcelona, by Juan Bta. Pujol & Co., in 1892 as the prelude of a three- movement set entitled Chants d'Espagne.

The name Asturias (Leyenda) was given to it posthumously by the German publisher Hofmeister, who included it in the 1911 "complete version" of the Suite española, although Albéniz never intended the piece for this suite. Despite the new name, this music is not considered suggestive of the folk music of the northern Spanish region of Asturias, but rather of Andalusian flamenco traditions. Leyenda, Hofmeister's subtitle, means legend. The piece is noted for the delicate, intricate melody of its middle section and abrupt dynamic changes.

Albéniz's biographer, Walter Aaron Clark, describes the piece as "pure Andalusian flamenco". In the main theme the piano mimics the guitar technique of alternating the thumb and fingers of the right hand, playing a pedal-note open string with the index finger and a melody with the thumb. The theme itself suggests the rhythm of the bulería — a fast flamenco form. The ‘marcato’/'staccato’ markings suggest both guitar sounds and the footwork of a flamenco dancer. The piece sounds as though it is written in the Phrygian mode which is typical of bulerías. The second section is a reminiscent of a copla — a sung verse following a specific form. Clark states that it is written in typical Albéniz form as it is "presented monophonically but doubled at the fifteenth for more fullness of sound. The music alters between a solo and accompaniment that is typical of flamenco. The short middle section of the piece is written in the style of a malagueña — another flamenco style piece. The malagueña borrows two motives from the previous copla and builds on them. The piece returns to its first theme until a slow "hymn-like" passage ends the piece.

Asturias, or Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous community of Spain.

Asturias may also refer to:

• Asturias (sculpture), a work of art outside the main railway station of the city of Oviedo
• Asturias, Cebu, a municipality in the Philippines
• Asturias F.C., a former Mexican football team
• Duchy of Asturia, a fictional duchy from David Eddings's Belgariad and related works
• Kingdom of Asturias, established in the early 8th century by King Pelagius of Asturias
• Parque Asturias, a defunct stadium in Mexico City

Asturias is one of the 52 electoral districts ( Spanish: circunscripciones) used for the Spanish Congress of Deputies—the lower chamber of the Spanish Parliament, the Cortes Generales. The method of election is the D'Hondt method and a closed-list proportional representation, with a minimum threshold of 3%.

The largest municipalities are Gijón and Oviedo, with a population of over 200,000. The next municipalities in size, with a population over 40,000, are Avilés, Siero, Langreo and Mieres.

The urban sculpture known by the name of Asturias is located in calle Uría, in front of the Renfe- FEVE railway station, in the city of Oviedo, Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is one of over a hundred sculptures that adorn the streets of that city.

The sculpture, executed in coal and steel, is the work of José Noja, and dates from 1991. It was commissioned from Noja by the rail company Renfe, which sought a work of art to adorn the rail station of Oviedo. This large-scale work is intended as a homage to the Principality of Asturias, and so it incorporates materials such as coal that are characteristic of Asturian industry.